


Chaldea’s Last Chancers

by Okita3_Daishouri



Category: Fate/Grand Order
Genre: Gen, Seriously how does Chaldea work there’s like no real info on it, headcanons and handwavings galore, multiple masters au, no betas we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-12-17
Updated: 2019-12-16
Packaged: 2021-02-26 03:16:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,191
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21826558
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Okita3_Daishouri/pseuds/Okita3_Daishouri
Summary: It’s like the start of a bad joke: “So, a Japanese woman, two Americans, and a Frenchman have to save the world”...
Kudos: 9





	Chaldea’s Last Chancers

“Good morning, sempai.”

The soft chime and quiet hiss of changing pressures as her door opened was almost inaudible under Mash’s (entirely-too-cheerful, her half-asleep brain insisted) greeting. Groggily, Ritsuka turned towards the voice, responding with an undignified grunt she never would’ve dared give if she’d been fully awake.

“…Or maybe not. You look exhausted.”

Finally, the last Master of Chaldea managed to get her brain to engage and shook her head apologetically as she moved to join Mash, the pair making their way toward the Rayshift chamber. “Couldn’t sleep. Nightmares.”

Mash made a sympathetic noise. “What about?”

Ritsuka shrugged, her eyes peeled for a vending machine. She needed a coffee if she was going to be at all productive today. “Don’t remember much.” 

_Spare me! Spare me, I beg of you! AAAIIEEE!!_

She frowned. “Just… a lot of fire. A lot of pain.”

Mash had no good response to that, keeping quiet until Ritsuka was fishing her drink out of the dispenser. “Singularity F was… quite a shock,” the Demi-Servant admitted, agreeing with what she thought her Master was referencing. “I still can’t quite believe the Director is just… _gone_ like that.”

Ritsuka popped the tab and took a drink to hide the frown that wanted to form. She didn’t disagree with Mash, but something about that explanation didn’t sit right with her. Whatever had invaded her dreams, it wasn’t memories of Fuyuki.

With _that_ particular mood-killer hanging in the air, a somber silence filled the hall. As they walked, it dawned on Ritsuka just what kind of task was ahead of them… ahead of _her_. She hadn’t really had time in Fuyuki to think about anything beyond _not dying_ , and had been too drained – physically, magically, _emotionally_ – upon return to do much of anything except _exist_. She hadn’t even had the energy to attend the impromptu ceremony the staff had held to commemorate everyone who’d died in Lev’s bombing. Dr. Roman had reassured her it was fine, that everyone understood, but she still felt like garbage for missing it.

And now she was just avoiding the issue. Could anyone really blame her, though? ( _No_ , a morbid part of her responded, _no one can blame you because everyone’s dead._ ) She was being asked to go back into that hellscape, or at least situations very much like it, and _somehow_ she was supposed to save the world with only a magic designer baby who didn’t know what she was doing ( _sorry, Mash_ ), the ghosts of a couple dead heroes, and barely enough magical knowledge to fill a _children’s primer!_

“Sempai…” Mash’s concern brought Ritsuka back to the present. “Are you feeling alright?”

She blinked in confusion. “Yeah. Why do you ask?”

Mash just looked down at her partner’s hands.

Ritsuka looked down as well, to see the crushed can in her fist, coffee dripping into a puddle on the floor. “Ah.” She grimaced. She wanted to stop and clean up, but they were running late enough as it is, and she didn’t want to deal with the _Look_ the head janitor would give her if she tried to do it herself, either. That man was oddly obsessive about his job. With a sigh, she started for the public toilet she remembered seeing around the corner to dispose of the can. “Let’s just go, before this morning gets any worse.”

Shortly afterward, the two young women were entering the Rayshift chamber. Much of the debris had been removed, but large chunks were still littered here and there. Ritsuka hesitated as she caught sight of the small gathering around one of the Rayshift capsules. That was… more people than she was expecting. What was going on? Where was Dr. Roman?

Catching up to Mash, Ritsuka threw a quick glance at the man in a black suit she thought looked vaguely familiar, before looking to see what had her kouhai’s attention: a pair of legs sticking out from underneath the raised capsule and an open toolbox. Curious as to what someone would be doing down there, she moved closer.

Whoever it was must have heard her moving, because a voice sounded out from underneath. “That you, Mash?” The speaker asked in English, his accent simple to understand, strong and clear. “Hand me the side cutters, would you, I’m about to just replace this whole fucking wire.” He trailed off into a grumbled string of pejoratives she doubted were meant to be heard, one part of that being their volume, the other being they were in Japanese.

Picking up the tool Mash pointed out for her, she knelt down, unable to resist passing along a comment in her mother tongue with the tool. “You should be careful what you say. Some people might not be comfortable with such language.”

The man pulled himself out from under the capsule, violet eyes blinking as he took in just who was holding out the cutters. There was something oddly familiar about them. “You are not Mashu.”

“You’re very observant,” she shot back with a grin. His Japanese sounded like his English – all distinct syllables and delineated words. It sounded nice, if a little strange.

His face colored, his pale skin making it stand out all the more, and he tilted forward in what she supposed was the best approximation of a bow he could make, lying on his back. “I am sorry if I caused offense. It was not my intention.”

“It’s fine. Your Japanese is actually pretty good.”

“Thank you.” He smiled, taking the cutters as he sat up. “I have not had much practice recently, so my apologies in advance if I speak mistakenly.”

It was a nice smile, she decided, waving off his apology with a smile of her own.

Mash spoke up in English as similarly clear as the odd man in front of her. “I didn’t know you spoke Japanese, Mr. Nicholas.”

The newly identified Nicholas shrugged. “I had a lot of free time.”

Before Ritsuka could flex her own English skills, the door cycled open again and the person she’d originally been expecting finally arrived.

Dr. Roman seemed to perk up after a quick scan of the room. “Oh, good. Everyone’s already here.” It seemed English was going to be the language of the day, then. He smiled as he joined the odd little half-circle that had formed with the stripped Rayshift capsule at its edge. “Good morning, Ritsuka. Did you sleep well?”

She went to respond, but a jaw-cracking yawn ambushed her before she could get a word out. She flushed with embarrassment at the amusement rippling around the group.

“Let’s get right to it, then,” Dr. Roman chuckled, “For starters, why don’t we all introduce ourselves? I know all of you one way or another, but I don’t think most of you have met.”

The man in the dark suit was the first to step forward, clearing his throat and offering a rakish smile. It suddenly clicked for Ritsuka why she felt she’d seen him before. _Oh. He looks like that one American with the metal suit, in the movie posters._

“I am Tyler, third son of the Rutledge family, and twenty-eighth Master of Chaldea,” he proudly announced, with a hand over his heart and a little bow from the waist. His voice had a drawl to it that made him very easy to listen to, if a little confusing to understand. “I look forward to workin’ with y’all.”

The man next to her, still sitting by the Rayshift capsule, gave a derisive snort so quiet she almost thought she’d imagined it.

Attention turned next to a very average-looking man (or at least, what she assumed an average white man looked like – short brown hair and brown eyes) who looked like he hadn’t slept in days. The bags under his eyes were fairly pronounced, and he had the start of some pretty impressive facial hair. It reminded her a bit of what her father looked like at the end of the week off he’d take every few months. He wore a white collared shirt and red sweater vest under a black… Ritsuka wasn’t sure _what_ it was, but it looked kind of like a haori, she guessed, if haori had hoods.

Tugging on a blue tie as if trying to loosen it, he sighed. "Pierre Grislac, Research and Archiving.” His voice had an odd sort of thickness to it, like it came from the back of his throat, and his words almost seemed to flow into each other. It was probably the strangest accent she’d heard, but it sounded nice. “I am still waiting to learn why it was so important that I be here."

Dr. Roman chuckled weakly, holding up his hands as if to placate the man. “Please, Pierre, I’ll explain as soon as everyone’s had a chance to introduce themselves.”

“ _Putain fait chier_ ,” Mr. Grislac grumbled, trailing off momentarily into indeterminate muttering before he rubbed his eyes and sighed. “…Fine. But I _will_ be invoicing the organization for the lost man-hours.”

Now, Dr. Roman’s weak chuckle was accompanied by him scratching the back of his neck. “Fair enough.”

Mash squeaked rather adorably as the group’s attention turned to her. “U-um… my name is Mash Kyrielight…” she said, bowing with her hands clasped in front of her waist. “Please take care of me.” The phrase sounded odd, being translated into English like that. Something felt missing.

Nicholas was an interesting contrast to the other two men. His white skin seemed almost unhealthily pale, and his clothes – a black shirt with the sleeves rolled near the elbow, grey trousers, and black boots – seemed rougher and more military than the western business wear of the others. With his short, bone-white hair, Ritsuka could easily imagine him being mistaken for a statue if he held very still. And she _still_ couldn’t place why his eyes seemed so familiar. That shade of purple was not normal, it should’ve been easy.

He didn’t even bother standing, simply giving a little wave from his seated position. “Nicholas Teringev. General engineering and, apparently, Rayshift capsule subject matter expert.”

This time, it was Mr. Rutledge’s turn to snort derisively, and not at all subtly. Ritsuka wondered what was going on between them as Nicholas sneered without any real heat at Mr. Rutledge, starting just a little as she realized they were all looking at her now.

Clearing her throat, she dragged up a smile to hide her nerves and copied Mash’s bow. “Fuji-” _Wait, shoot, family names come last in English._ “Ritsuka Fujimaru. Master candidate number forty-eight. It is relieving to know I am not the only Master left.” She added at the end with a smile at Mr. Rutledge, who nodded respectfully. She caught the pained look he tried to smother and glanced worriedly at Roman, but the doctor didn’t seem concerned.

He clapped his hands once with a smile. “Let’s get to the briefing, then. You all are aware of what’s happened this past week. Lev sabotaged many of our systems with his attack, including the FATE system.”

Nicholas let out a pained hiss, and Dr. Roman nodded, his face serious.

“Unfortunately, we can’t afford to wait any longer for it to be repaired. We almost can’t afford to wait as long as we have. We’ve uncovered a number of singularities, almost all at critical turning points in humanity’s history. If it weren’t for them, we as a race could not have come as far as we have. They _must_ be investigated and corrected, if humanity is to hope to see 2019.”

“What does this have to do with this ‘fate’ system?” Mr. Grislac grumbled, “Or us?”

Nicholas answered that question, his face grim. “The FATE summoning system lets potential Masters summon Heroic Spirits without undue strain on their magic circuits by taking the load on itself, so to speak.”

Again, Mr. Rutledge buried a wince. Again, Ritsuka tried to catch the doctor’s eye. Again, Roman seemed unconcerned.

Nicholas continued, unbothered with the byplay. “And now we have two Masters…” His grin took on a cast of dark humor. “…and no FATE.”

“Four.”

Dr. Roman returned the looks of confusion with a smile. After a couple seconds of thought, he shrugged and tilted his hand in a so-so motion. “Well, in theory.”

Still seeing blank looks, he cleared his throat and began to explain. “Nicholas is correct, the FATE system allows for both the summoning of Servants and the provision of magical energy to support them, but it’s not the only way. Actually, the FATE system is based off of an earlier method, though it wasn’t very reliable until-” His next words caught in his throat as he cut himself off. Ritsuka almost thought she saw him glance in Mash’s direction, but it must’ve been a trick of the light. “…Well, that’s not important. What matters is that it works. _Worked_.” Dr. Roman winced at his slip but pushed on with a wave of his hand. “I’m getting off-topic. The point is, we have a way to summon Heroic Spirits, though the burden of supporting them will be on the Masters.” He was giving Mr. Grislac an expectant look now, and Mr. Grislac was looking back at him like he was trying to decide if he should be laughing or raging.

“You mean the Fuyuki Grail War ritual.”

The look on Dr. Roman’s face could almost be considered smug. “You _did_ provide us with the research materials for it all those years ago. And we _do_ have a Grail, now.”

“You are _insane_.”

Dr. Roman shrugged. “We live in insane times.”

“Do you have any _idea_ how much work that is going to take?” Mr. Grislac demanded heatedly, “Verifying the integrity of the spell, ensuring the incantation’s energies remain balanced… assuming the ritual is even flexible enough to be modified in the first place! And all of this on time you have already stated we do not have? You might as well ask for the moon!”

Dr. Roman was nodding along as he tapped at something on a tablet Ritsuka realized she’d failed to notice. “I know, I’ve been poking at it when I could find a moment or two.” He held the tablet out with a smile. “Here’s what I’ve figured out so far, if you wouldn’t mind taking a look for me.”

Mr. Grislac took the tablet with a look of mulish suspicion. Whatever he saw almost immediately absorbed him, muttering under his breath with his eyes fixed on the tablet.

“You still haven’t explained what you meant by four Masters,” Mr. Rutledge said, a hand stroking his chin.

Dr. Roman cleared his throat again. “Right, sorry. The FATE system is designed with stringent criteria for its potential Masters. The Fuyuki Grail ritual is… less picky.”

“Criteria? What kind of criteria?” Ritsuka hadn’t really followed any of that explanation, but she was pretty sure she knew what that meant. She turned to see what Nicholas was thinking and found him staring at her in fascination. No, staring at her… hair? Without meaning to, her hand came up to brush it behind her ear. He blushed and looked away, and Ritsuka could feel her own face burning as she forced her own attention back on the doctor.

“Ah…” The question seemed to catch Dr. Roman off-guard. “I… don’t actually know? I had it explained once, but I couldn’t follow it at all.” He gave an embarrassed laugh, rubbing the back of his head. “Something about ‘the wavelength of the soul’ and ‘compatibility with the concept of summoning’? You’d have to ask her.” He gestured to a woman peering over Mr. Grislac’s shoulder, pointing out something on the tablet as he nodded along.

Any previous embarrassment on the part of violet-eyed technicians was forgotten at the surprise appearance of this new woman. She was very beautiful, with brilliant blue eyes and long brown hair. There was something about her that niggled at the back of Ritsuka’s mind.

_Why does she make me think ‘painting’?_

The woman gave a pleased chuckle at all the attention now focused on her. “I wondered how long you were going to keep me waiting,” she said with a teasing smirk at Dr. Roman, whose only response was to roll his eyes.

“Give me a break, stop acting like you didn’t just get here,” he drawled. “Everyone, allow me to introduce Chaldea’s pride and joy and the head of our engineering department. As you should be able to tell, she’s-”

Mash’s excited squeal was downright adorable, and Ritsuka couldn’t help smiling at her kouhai’s excitement. “A Servant! Sempai, this is incredible! This person is a Servant!”

“Right you are! I am the proud inventor of the Renaissance!” the Servant declared with a proud smile and a laugh. “The one-and-only Leonardo da Vinci, in the flesh! You can just call me Da Vinci.”

The pained look of disbelief on Mr. Rutledge’s face left Ritsuka fighting back laughter. Mr. Grislac’s expression was just as golden, a sour disappointment like he regretted ever getting out of bed today. Nicholas had his face buried in his hands, his shoulders shaking with silent, embarrassed laughter.

At her curious look, he grinned. “Yes,” he said in Japanese, answering her silent question, “my superior is the Mona Lisa.”

Now _that_ was a name she recognized. “So that’s why she makes me think of a painting.”

Nicholas laughed aloud at that, and even Mash gave a little giggle.

Mr. Rutledge, meanwhile, had apparently had enough. “This is absurd! It’s wrong! Leonardo da Vinci was a man–”

“Says who?” Ms. Da Vinci shot back, still grinning, “Is it really that important? I pursued beauty with both my inventions and art; I personified all ideals, all beauty. To me, the ideal beauty is the Mona Lisa – is this not simply the unavoidable result?”

Mr. Rutledge hesitated for a moment, before giving her a respectful nod. “Touché,” he conceded wryly, “I apologize for my reaction.”

“I didn’t understand that at all…” Ritsuka admitted quietly to Mash. Not quietly enough it seems, as Ms. Da Vinci tittered and Dr. Roman snorted.

“I wish I hadn’t,” he said under his breath. Louder, he cleared his throat and asked in English, “Did you finish those Mystic Codes I asked you for, Da Vinci?”

“Indeed I did!” she exclaimed, pulling a wooden box from _somewhere_ in her dress and handing it to the doctor. “Give me a _real_ challenge next time, Roman, this was almost too easy.” She sauntered off, playfully smacking Dr. Roman’s shoulder with languid smirk.

“Wow, she really did just introduce herself and run off.” Dr. Roman grumbled half-heartedly. With a shake of his head, his serious expression returned as he took in the circle. “We don’t have a lot of time; are there any more questions?”

Mr. Rutledge’s eyebrow quirked upward as he folded his arms. “You _still_ haven’t explained where you found these two extra Masters you’ve alluded to,” he drawled, “ _or_ how it relates to this older summoning ritual.”

Nicholas, at the same time, raised his hand with a sheepish grin. “I’m not really following what you’re expecting us to do, either…” he admitted.

Dr. Roman’s shoulders visibly slumped, his expression crumpling. “Right, sorry. We keep getting off-topic.” He cleared his throat again and the serious mask came back on. “In order, then. The Masters I’ve been referring to… are you four.” Holding up his hand to forestall any comments, he continued. “Tyler and Ritsuka are already Masters under Chaldea’s FATE system, yes, but like I said, the Fuyuki Grail is less picky. After careful consideration, Da Vinci and I have determined that Nicholas and Pierre have the Magical Circuits necessary to support a Servant. A lot of the groundwork for the ritual is already in place, it just needs to be sanity checked…” He trailed off with a questioning look at Mr. Grislac.

The researcher grumbled something incoherent before thrusting the tablet back at Dr. Roman like it burned him. “It should work. _Theoretically_.” The admission seemed to almost physically pain him.

Dr. Roman beamed. “Excellent! As for our goal, I’ve already mentioned the Singularities. These _need_ to be corrected, history _needs_ to be returned to its course, if we’re going to reverse the Incineration of Humanity.” After taking a moment to let that sink in, he continued. “This is mostly an educated guess, but I can’t shake the feeling this is related to the Holy Grail. A wish-granting vessel, containing near limitless amounts of magical energy, is the only artifact I can think of that would allow someone to travel through time and change the past. I don’t know how, but Lev must’ve gotten ahold of one somehow and misused it. I’ll say it again: your objective is to correct the Singularities, by either securing or destroying the Holy Grail. If you don’t, we’ll be right back at square one. Are we clear?” He looked each one of them in the eye, waiting for a nod or some other signal that his words had registered. With that accomplished, he broke out into a grin again. “Great! We’re going to borrow the FATE summoning chamber for the ritual, so follow me. We’ll knock this out quick and then start the Rayshift.”

The summoning chamber was located almost directly across the hall from the Rayshift chamber, surprisingly, so it was a short walk. A silver ritual circle was sunk into the floor, and that was all Ritsuka could tell about it. Mr. Rutledge looked mildly impressed, and Mr. Grislac was whispering under his breath, his eyes darting across different points of the circle. At least Nicholas was looking as confused as she was.

Dr. Roman’s expression as he looked up at the observation bay in the rear of the room was hard to decipher. He took a deep breath, forced a smile on his face, and held up the tablet from earlier. “Who wants to go first? Nicholas?”

The technician shrugged, stepping up to the circle and taking the tablet. “Why not.”

“Make sure you’ve got the aria memorized before you give it a shot.” Dr. Roman chuckled. “I’d really rather not see what happens when it’s done wrong.”

Nicholas grinned, his eyes flickering across the tablet screen. After a minute, he returned it to the doctor with a nod. Stepping back, Dr. Roman gestured that the rest of the group should move back as well.

Nicholas took a deep breath, a serious cast to his face as he extended an arm over the circle. He began speaking, the projection of his voice ringing from the walls.

“ _For the elements, silver and iron._

_For the foundation, stone and the Archduke of Pacts._

_For the anchor, the sanctity of Mankind._ ”

A light began to shine from the circle, a shine that grew brighter and brighter as he spoke.

“ _Raise a wall against the falling winds._

_Close the gates of the four directions._

_Come forth from the Crown and follow the forked road leading to the Kingdom._ ”

The glare was edging on toward blinding now. It washed away what little color Nicholas had from his skin.

“ _Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill. Fill._ ”

“ _Repeat five times; but when each is filled, destroy it._

 _Set._ ”

The light flared brighter than ever as he chanted. A wind began to stir, circling the room like water down a drain.

“ _Heed my words._

_My will creates your body, and your sword creates my destiny._

_If you heed the Grail's call, and obey my will and reason, then answer me!_ ”

The wind began to pick up speed.

“ _I hereby swear:_

_That I shall be all the good in the world._

_That I shall defeat all evil in the world._ ”

Nicholas was all but shouting into the air now, his free hand coming up to support the one extended, as if resisting some invisible force.

“ _Seventh Heaven clad in the great words of power!_

 _Come forth from the binding circle, o Guardian of the Scales!_ ”

With a great, blinding flash and a wave of force that Ritsuka felt in her bones more than anywhere else, the ritual ended. As she blinked the glare from her eyes, she could see Nicholas hunched over as he’d just finished a long run, his breath coming in great gasps. A strange red symbol in three parts glimmered from the back of his hand. She turned to the figure in the center of the summoning circle, and her breath caught.

_Oh, she’s beautiful._

She was a young woman, not much older than Ritsuka herself. A long, blue dress peaked out from beneath shining armor plating over her torso, the sides of her skirt, her forearms and hands. Swirls of magic twisted the air, concealing the weapon gripped in her right hand. Her soft skin was pale beneath handsome, unblemished features. Her hair, finely textured and golden blonde, was done up in a braid-circled bun, save for two loose sections that framed her face. Her eyes, brilliantly green, held Nicholas’s in a regal, intense gaze. She spoke, and her voice rang out like a bell, clear and arresting.

"I ask of you... Are you my Master?"

**Author's Note:**

> NGL, this is partially wish fulfillment for me and a couple of friends who’re all slaves to the gacha with me, but hopefully it’s enjoyable and believable wish fulfillment.
> 
> Oh yeah, and I don’t own FGO or the Fate series, yada yada yada...


End file.
